


The More Things Change

by esmerelda_t



Category: Daredevil (TV), Jessica Jones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 09:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19373836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esmerelda_t/pseuds/esmerelda_t
Summary: Jessica isn’t particularly interested in the content of the argument Murdock is having with one of the nuns at the other side of the common room.  Sister Eugenia is the kind of nun given starring roles in TV movies and Jessica is pretty sure she only became one to make other people’s life a misery. All the other kids keep their head down around her for genuine fear she might stick needles under their fingernails or something. Murdock though doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.Or, Jessica goes to St Agnes instead of the Walkers





	The More Things Change

Jessica isn’t particularly interested in the content of the argument Murdock is having with one of the nuns at the other side of the common room.  Sister Eugenia is the kind of nun given starring roles in TV movies and Jessica is pretty sure she only became one to make other people’s life a misery. All the other kids keep their head down around her for genuine fear she might stick needles under their fingernails or something. Murdock though doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.

Jessica looks up from her book as the other kids, who’d been chattering while watching TV fall silent. Sister Eugenia spits out, “You are a wicked, insolent, young man who should not be allowed to remain here to corrupt good, obedient, children!” Jessica rolls her eyes at that, Murdock didn’t suffer fools gladly, which is why he and Sister Eugenia frequently clashed, but he was one of the better behaved kids, spent most of his time studying. Murdock shouts back, “It’s Leaves of Grass, it’s a classic of American literature, it’s not porn!”  Jessica notices that Sister Eugenia has Murdock’s Walkman, which he had been sitting apart from everyone listening to while his hands skimmed over one of his books. Sister Eugenia screams, “Filth! Not that I expect any better from _you_ , even your own mother is too ashamed to even acknowledge you as hers!” A few of the kids gasp at that and Murdock, red with anger, shouts back, “My mother is dead! You’re sick, it’s you they shouldn’t let near us!” Sister Eugenia’s reply is shrill, “Sister Margaret is your mother! Your disgusting, criminal, father tempted her away from God’s mercy and you were the result! I’ve told the Reverend Mother, I’ve told her! You mock our vocation by your foul presence!”

Murdock sits still for a moment and the entire room is silent except for the sound of Sister Eugenia’s laboured breathing after her rant, Murdock stands, turns on his heel and exits the room without another word.

~

Sister Teresa arrives soon after, obviously having heard the screaming. Sister Eugenia is rambling at her, Jessica seriously thinks she’s completely lost the plot, when Sister Margaret arrives. Jessica likes Sister Margaret, or Sister Maggie as all the kids call her.  Sister Maggie doesn’t take shit from anyone but there’s a kindness in her no nonsense attitude, a gentleness that’s not immediately apparent. The three nuns are huddled together discussing something in furious whispers when Sister Maggie gasps, puts her hand to her mouth in horror, “No….no you didn’t. Why…why would you do that! You _twisted bitch!_ ” Sister Maggie runs from the room and Sister Eugenia says, clearly and loudly, “Whore. Her and her cripple whoreson with ideas above his station.” Sister Teresa snaps, “That’s enough!” Sister Teresa promptly adopts a weird ‘this is fine, everything is fine!’ expression and claps her hands, “Okay, kids, time for bed I think, everyone to their room!”

~

Jessica’s roommate, Zoe, asks between tugs on her hair as she combs it out, “Do you think it’s true? About Matt?” Jessica shrugs, “Maybe? Maggie seemed pretty horrified.” Zoe begins to reply but before she can get anything coherent out there’s shouting, screaming really, and they both dart for the door. Jorge, who is Murdock’s roommate is in the corridor, he’s yelling, “Help, please! Matt…Jesus, Matt…” Jessica pushes past Zoe, who she hears rush over to Jorge who’s now crying, “I think he’s dead, oh god, I think he’s dead!” Jessica sprints down the corridor, vaults the stair bannister and lands with ease on the boy’s floor. The boys are beginning to drift out of their rooms at the commotion and Jessica pushes past them. One, Kieran, a tiny little kid, is already in the room.

Jessica momentarily freezes at the sight, Murdock, noose round his neck, dangling from the light fixture while a six year old boy cries and tugs at his legs. She only hesitates for a minute though, then she jumps, shouts “Get back!” at Kieran, pulls the noose and crashes to the ground with Murdock and the light fixture.  She tears the noose, bends down to try and figure out if Murdock is still breathing. Kieran is in the way and she only notices other people are in the room when Kieran is suddenly lifted away by Zoe with a “Come on, little man.” Jessica gives Zoe a grateful glance as she balances a sobbing Kieran on her hip. There’s other kids in the doorway, Jorge has joined her beside Murdock, asks, “Do you know CPR?” Jessica is about to reply with, “Shit, no, do you?” When suddenly the nuns are in the room and Sister Maggie _screams_. Drops to her knees, “Oh God, no, please, no, Matthew! Matthew!” Sister Teresa puts an arm around her but Sister Gabriella is also with them, snaps, “Jessica! Out of the way!”

Sister Gabriella begins CPR, and between compressions shouts something at Jorge in Spanish. Jorge bolts from the room, to call the ambulance she thinks Sister Gabriella has ordered.

~

They watch Matt being loaded into the ambulance and there’s no doubt about if Sister Eugenia had been telling the truth when a still crying Sister Maggie, tells the paramedics asking who will accompany him, “He’s my son. I’ll accompany him.”

~

Matt never comes back and neither does Sister Maggie. Sister Eugenia is shipped to some home for evil old nuns in Boston. They’re never told what exactly happened but are reassured Matt is still alive. Jessica’s not sure she believes them.  She graduates high school and goes to college, the whole orphan thing goes down a storm with the scholarship boards and the sisters help her with the forms. She temps afterwards and then, well then she intervenes when some kid is taking a beating and Kilgrave happens.

She doesn’t remember much from the days immediately following getting away from Kilgrave, just flashes of bare feet and bloodied hands and Father Lantom carrying her through to the infirmary after she collapsed on the steps of Clinton Church. Sister Gabriella’s soothing hands and a novice she doesn’t know reading extracts from trashy magazines to her.

~

Jessica is trying to drink in peace but the braying of the jackasses in the corner grates. They’re Wall Street, or lawyers or some other asshole profession if the suits and money being thrown about are anything to go by. One’s even still got his sunglasses on, what a dick. When she’s finished her drink she swings around on the stool to depart and notices the asshole in the shades is at the bar beside her, dictating a drinks order, she frowns, eyes falling on the cane and back up to the profile, _it can’t be,_ “Matt? Matt Murdock?”

He tilts his head towards her, “Yeah, have we….” His face suddenly scrunches in recognition, she has no idea how, “Jessica Jones? Is that you?” She nods, realises it’s futile, “Yeah, God, we all thought you were dead….” She’s already thinking _idiot_ as she says it but he just grins at her, “Well as you can see, rumours of my demise where greatly exaggerated.” He gestures towards the bar, “Let me buy you a drink?” Jessica settles back on her stool, “Sure, Jack, no coke.”  He asks the bartender to add it to the order and eases himself onto the stool beside hers. Jessica glances back at his friends, “So what kind of big shot are you now?”

Matt thanks the bartender who puts his drink down in front of him, informing him it’s to his 2 o’clock before answering, “I’m a junior associate at Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz, it’s a…” Jessica interrupts, “Law firm, yeah I know.” He tilts his head again, “And what do you do these days?” Jessica sips her drink before replying, “PI. I’ve done some work for Foggy Nelson occasionally, he’s…” It’s Matt’s turn to show off he knows and interrupts, “Associate DA, a good guy, so I hear.”

Jessica runs her hand down the lapel of Matt’s suit jacket, “Well goodness doesn’t buy a fancy suit like this.” Matt just smirks at her in reply.

~

Jessica’s jeans are already off when Matt lands heavily backward on his bed, he’d carried her through from his living room with her legs wrapped around his waist and when her legs hit the sheets she pulls her mouth away from his to ask, “Is this _silk?_ ” Matt’s hands tug at her t-shirt and he replies with a matter of fact “Yes” as Jessica lifts her arms to let him remove her t-shirt, she reaches behind to unclasp her bra and wriggles out of it leaving her only in her panties while Matt’s so far only been shed of his jacket and tie. A situation she’s determined to remedy and she proceeds to unbutton his shirt, when she gets if off though her eyes widen. It’s not the hard muscle which surprises her, she could feel that through his shirt, it’s the scars, she blurts out, “Did you do this to yourself? _How_ did you do this to yourself?” Matt answers waspishly, “I’m blind, I get into accidents.”

Jessica props herself further up, “You were never clumsy, not _this_ clumsy anyway.” Matt’s eyes flicker, he’s looking somewhere past her shoulder, his voice is low and he removes his hands from her waist as he says, “It’s none of your business, if you don’t like it then the door’s…”His expression changes and he suddenly shifts her completely off him with a muttered, “Shit.” Jessica’s mouth is open and _asshole_ is on the tip of her tongue when she hears the front door click open and a woman, sounding incredibly pissed off, calls out, “Matthew! You better be here!”

Jessica rolls her eyes and looks around for her bra, girlfriend, of course. Maybe they were into kinky shit and that’s what the scars were about as there looked to be a few on his back that couldn’t possibly be self-inflicted.  She watches Matt walk, without any hesitation or uncertainty, straight for the door. She forgoes the bra, grabs her t-shirt to put on and follows. When she enters the living room Matt is a few seconds ahead of her and is being harangued by a tiny, oddly familiar, dark haired woman who stops the moment she realises there’s a third person in the room and asks in surprise, “Jessica?”

Jessica nods, “Sister Maggie.” Sister Maggie smiles but it’s grim, mouth set, “Just Maggie now, it’s nice to see you.” She glares at Matt and hisses, “You’re meant to check in, that was the deal, how else am I meant to know you’re not dead in a ditch!” Matt hisses back, “Christ, Maggie, I can’t have one evening to myself?” Maggie, voice rising, shouts, “It’s what you do with those evenings that’s the problem!”

Jessica holds her hands up in a vague ‘please stop’ gesture, “Okay, this is…weird. Even for me. I’m just going to…” She scoops up her jeans, boots and jacket, hastily putting the jeans and boots on while Matt and Maggie quietly glower. She bolts for the door as soon as her laces are tied and can hear Maggie berating Matt with, “You could have said you were going to call her you know, I assume she wasn’t half naked in your bedroom because she needed help with her taxes!” Jessica bolts down the stairs. At least she has a good new ‘worse hook up ever’ story for the next time she sees Zoe, along with the news Matt Murdock wasn’t dead after all.

~

When the bell on the door pings Jessica doesn’t even look up from her laptop, “Office hours are…” she glances up at the sound of a cleared throat. Matt Murdock is standing in the doorway. He fishes something out of his pocket and holds it up sheepishly, “You left your bra at mine.”

Jessica should be mad but she can’t stop her mouth from quirking up, “And you brought it back, what a gentleman.” She stands, “You want a drink?”

Matt looks surprised at the offer but says, “Sure.” Drinks poured they sit opposite each other and the silence is broken by Matt’s hesitant, “I wanted…I thought about writing to you, back then, to say thank you. Maggie told me I’d probably have died if it wasn’t for you. I should have thanked you the other night at the bar.”

Jessica wasn’t expecting that, it’s hard to tell with his beard growth but she wonders if there’s still a mark on his neck or if the bruising only exits now in her memory on a bad night, Maggie’s too she’d guess, she asks, “Did you live with Maggie then? After you got out the hospital? They never really told us anything more than you were going to be okay.” Matt shakes his head, “No, well not right away. I was in another group home for about six months, but a more specialist one, with doctors instead of nuns. It wasn’t run by the Church and I have no idea how she got me in there really, it was a private facility. It was in Connecticut, Maggie stayed nearby when I was living there but when I was discharged we came back to New York. We were in Brooklyn, Maggie had a job in one of the hospitals out there. She’s a nurse, you know?” Jessica nods, “Yeah, I know, I mean, I remember, Maggie and Sister Gabriella were nurses, that why they didn’t’ teach.” Matt sighs, “She’s tried really hard to be a mom to me but…it shouldn’t have come to that, it shouldn’t have taken me doing _that_ for her to give any indication she gives a shit about me.”

Jessica doesn’t really feel comfortable getting into all that, she’s nowhere near drunk enough, but she does ask, “So she’s overprotective now? Is that what the other night was about? Are you meant to check in with, let her know you’re home safely, that kind of thing?”

Matt fidgets, “Yeah…well….” He clears his throat and asks, “You remember those scars you were asking about?” Jessica replies with a cautious, “Yes?” She really hopes this is not going to have to end with her going to social services to tell them she thinks an ex-nun and her blind son’s relationship is so dysfunctional the nun is abusing him. This was not what she signed up for when she thought a one night stand with a hot lawyer was a good idea.

Matt blurts it out. “I’m the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. She worries.”

Jessica blinks at him. “Okay. Okay. Wasn’t expecting that to be honest.”

Matt sighs and Jessica thinks it’s in relief, “Yeah. Well. Maggie’s known for a while, it didn’t take her long to figure it out. She got a transfer to Metro General to be nearby if I need patching up. She doesn’t _approve_ but she’s not going to let me bleed out either.”

Jessica stands and Matt tilts his face up to her, looking alarmed, his expression relaxes when she says, “We are going to need pizza and alcohol, a lot more alcohol, to recap the past ten years. You’re buying.”

Matt replies with a smile that slowly spreads and eagerly agrees, “Okay, I’ll buy, this time.”


End file.
